The Zilantkon festival of science fiction and role-playing games is taking place in Kazan.

      The first day of the 34th International Festival of Fantasy, Tolkienism and Role-Playing Games "Zilantkon" has begun. Its organizers described how the convention will take place this year at a press conference at Tatar-inform.

      The convention has been held since 1991, but it did not receive its name, "Zilantkon," immediately — only in 1993. Since 2001 its organization has been overseen by Boris Fetisov, a developer and host of business and educational games and a moderator of programs at the Moscow School of Management "Skolkovo."

      "It all began simply as a gathering of like-minded people. For some time it (the convention — ed. T-i) was a 'nomadic horror of the city of Kazan,'" Fetisov told journalists.

      When the convention settled in Sotsgorod (in the Lenin Palace of Culture), it became a showcase for a wide variety of communities. Games, history, literature, music and much more came together in one space. The convention tries to preserve that diversity to this day, or, as its organizer put it, "to maintain complexity in a world that is striving for simplification."

      Speaking about such a large-scale event is rather difficult, Fetisov admitted: the program includes more than 300 events. Entry to the venue is paid. A ticket allows you to visit all Zilantkon venues for an entire day. The program features performances, costume contests, fencing, round tables on futurology and AI, master classes, musical battles and even a separate children's program.

      One of the convention's main events will be the play "The Last Trial," based on the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons (developed in 1974), staged by the Moscow theater "Skazki Nakhimovskaya," which will take place on November 3. It is the story of a man who wants to become a god and, on the way to this goal, destroys the world around him. In the end he becomes the "lord of nothing."

      "It is very important for me to show this play at this convention. We are taking a big financial risk, but it clearly demonstrates the theme of the convention — this year it is 'power,'" Fetisov explained. "Zilantkon" will conclude on November 4. All convention events take place at the Lenin Palace of Culture.

      Photo: © Ramil Gali / Tatar-inform

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